Fear the Dark
by TriforceWisdom64
Summary: Lucian lost his wife to Thresh. Vayne lost her family to a witch. Both of them joined the League in retaliation. Both have sworn to destroy the creatures of darkness and purge the League when the time is right. That time is now...or at least it better be, or else the world will be plunged into darkness forever.
1. The Purifier

_Lucian faced a line of restless spirits a hundred yards long. Specters that would have made most men lose their sanity and cower in fear had no effect on the seasoned ghost fighter. He and his beloved, Senna, stood side by side, their enchanted firearms glowing by their sides. In unison they raised their weapons, looked to each other, nodded, and opened fire._

_The undead army charged, being gunned down almost as fast as they could run, glide, slither, or do whatever they did to move toward the fearless duo. When the greatly depleted ranks of the undead came upon them, Lucian and Senna rolled under them, spun around them, and vaulted over them, releasing a torrent of gunfire on the confused ghouls as they reached the other side of their enemies. One by one they fell until none were left._

_Lucian smiled and let out a chuckle, turning to exchange a one-liner with Senna. Instead, he came face to face with Thresh, the dreaded collector of souls. Lucian stood in shock for close to a second before his instincts took over, telling him to lift his gun. He tried, but found he couldn't move his arms. His entire body was frozen, even his eyelids. He couldn't even blink as he watched Thresh tear the flesh right off of Senna's beautiful face._

()

Lucian woke up in a cold sweat. He bolted upright and barely stopped himself from calling out "Senna!" He looked around hurriedly. He was in his bed, in his room, in the champion dormitories at the Institute of Justice.

He sighed and breathed deeply. These dreams had become a regular occurence since he became a champion. Each dream was different, but in each one, he watched helplessly as Thresh killed Senna. Over. And over. And over.

Lucian took some more deep breaths to quell his anger, both toward Thresh for his horrendous crimes and toward the League of Legends for not allowing him to fight Thresh. He wanted to make Thresh pay. If the soul reaper was immortal, all the better. He could suffer the same fate as his victims for all eternity. If only they would give him a chance to make it happen.

Lucian stood and drew back the curtains of his window. The sun was just breaking over the horizon. Creatures of the dark would be sttling in to sleep through the day, waiting for their chance to rise and devour the souls of the innocent. And all the while, the all-powerful Institute put all their efforts into prolonging the war between Demacia and Noxus.

Lucian snorted. Those idiots could use a good war. Maybe their egos could die along with them on the battlefield. How satisfying it would be to see Jarvan's and Swain's heads mounted side by side on the mantle of the common room fireplace.

"No, no," he said to himself. Thoughts like that wouldn't help him achieve his goal: eliminating all the champions of the Shadow Isles and the Void, conveniently gathered in one place, ripe for the hunting. He just had to get around the League's rules somehow.

And he was going to do it. Soon.


	2. The Night Hunter

Vayne ate lunch alone in the woods outside the Institute. She ate every meal alone. She didn't enjoy the company of others much. Small talk irritated her, and the other champions never wanted to say anything more to her. Anyhow, she wasn't lonely. She was here with a purpose.

That purpose was seeming more pointless each day.

It wasn't as though eliminating the followers of the dark was a bad life goal. It was an _impossible _one. Some of the summoners and champions in the League went so far as to befriend Cho'Gath and Kha'Zix and all the other dark mages and monsters at the Institute. It disgusted the Night Hunter. It insulted her.

She wanted them all to pay with their lives, as her parents and brother had years ago.

()

_"Daddy, who's that?" a young Shauna Vayne asked her father._

_"I don't actually know, honey. I found her weeping on the side of the road. I don't think she can talk."_

_The disheveled woman slumped her shoulders. She was very ugly, with wrinkles and warts covering ever inch of visible skin. Vayne didn't know what it was, but she felt a bad vibe the moment the hag had stepped into her house. As her father led the woman into the basement to stay for the night, Vayne swore the intruder had turned to her...and smiled._

_Late that night, Vayne woke to her mother screaming in pain. She sat bolt upright in bed, got up, and tiptoed out into the hall. The hag her father had brought into her house was holding a bloody knife over the writhing form of her mother, lying on the floor, skin pale as snow. Her father's body hung by a rope from the ceiling, completely motionless. Vayne didn't need directions: she fled as quickly and quietly as she could to the basement. Her brother's bedroom door was open; he was nowhere to be found._

_She reached the basement and hid behind some crates, crawling into the space between them. She heard a voice call out to her and panicked, but it was only her brother._

_"Shauna? Is that you?"_

_"Shhh! Jarrod, be quiet!"_

_The witch descended the stairs minutes later, sniffing the air like an animal. Vayne stayed as still as she could, hoping with all her heart she wouldn't be found. Her heart stopped seconds later when she heard her brother whimper. The witch heard it too. She descended on him, snatched him up, and carried him, screaming, back up the stairs._

_Vayne stayed almost completely still for three days. When the chanting and demonic voices stopped, and when she was too hungry to go on, she left her hiding spot and went upstairs. The bodies were gone, but the blood stained every piece of furniture in the house. A cauldron had tipped over, a strange green liquid dripping out. Vayne ran from the house for help, but there was nothing anyone could do. At that moment, little Shauna was gone. Vayne swore to destroy that witch, along with all the followers of the dark arts._

_That was when she became the Night Hunter._

_()_

Vayne threw the remaining piece of her sandwich on the ground and stomped it into the dirt. She would kill that witch one day, and one day soon.

She had to.


	3. Attempted Murder

Someone wanted Lucian dead.

He'd only been with the League for a few months, and he'd apparently already made either a lot of enemies or some very influential enemies.

It was a small Hextech bomb. Nothing special about it. It was set to detonate when it's two-foot-radius sensors were triggered. The would-be killer had placed the bomb on the wall behind the door. The door would open, trigger an explosion that would destroy the entire room, and kill its target.

The only problem arose when Lucian came in through the window. A flood of new summoners meant more clueless people asking Lucian stupid questions like "What are the Shadow Isles like?" and "Woah, Thresh can put people's souls _in _his lantern?" Last time he drew his guns and nearly killed the lot of them. To avoid having to cross a sea of idiots, he left the building, went outside his living quarters, and climbed in through the window.

When he saw the bomb, he just stood there for a moment as the realization hit him. _I should be dead right now. _Then he turned and leapt back out.

It was a warm, sunny day, so most people were in good spirits. Lucian was not. He sprinted past children playing and families laughing and couples kissing so that he could make absolutely sure none of them died that day.

Inside the Institute, Lucian told the nearest summoner, "Find Ziggs and tell him to come to my room NOW!"

The young man didn't stop to question the Purifier. He ran off to the Piltover area, hoping Ziggs wasn't _in _Piltover at that moment. Meanwhile, Lucian turned, drew his guns without touching the triggers (to threaten any stupid summoners who stopped him), and continued his mad dash for his room.

Sure enough, one of the cleaning staff who'd been hired just last week was about to enter the room when Lucian arrived. He shouted "WAIT!" at the top of his lungs just as the guy (who couldn't have been over 19) turned the handle. When he heard the Purifier's deep, loud yell, he let go of the handle and jumped back to the wall, dropping the fresh sheets he'd brought for the man who'd just saved his life.

()

"Hmm..." Ziggs pondered as he looked at the bomb across the room. "That's a Hextexploder, model S. Very tricky to disarm. I'm going to need my Sonic Screwdriver."

Ten minutes later, Ziggs got the bomb to stop blinking red and deactivate. He carelessly picked it up and turned it over, looking for a manufacturer's brand. When he didn't find one, he said, "Yep. Definitely the Mafia." Then he threw the explosive in the trash and left the room, leaving Lucian to ponder who he'd pissed off.

Of course, he'd made enemies with a bunch of dark magic cultists, but he didn't usually leave survivors when he fought with them. There was also the chance it was someone here at the Institute. The High Council of Summoners liked to say that it was the safest place in the world, but that was clearly not true.

And there were plenty of people Lucian didn't trust living right next door.

**Note: This is fanfic dot net. I know the Sonic Screwdriver is from Dr. Who. I used it. I don't need a disclaimer. Get over it. Anyway, remember to check out my profile for YouTube updates!**


	4. Council of the Wise

The meeting took place in secret, deep in the underground section of the Institute of War. The war room upstairs was just for show, as it could be easily spied on. This underground chamber, on the other hand, was very secluded and hidden by powerful magic. Other than the summoners' Council of the Wise, head summoner Drake Vayl, a select few champions thought to be trustworthy, and the guards outside the door, nobody even knew this chamber existed.

Today, they had made an exception for Lucian. The attempted bombing was, obviously, very concerning, and the summoners were doing their best to keep it under wraps. To find out who the culprit was, they had decided to ask the Purifier a number of stupid, childish questions.

"Is there anyone you know who might want to kill you?" Jarvan asked.

"More than those who wouldn't."

"Anyone recently met, with moderate explosives knowledge?" Caitlyn inquired.

"Most of 'em."

"Anyone specific within the Institute?" Yi suggested.

"If I named them, I'd be admitting to self-defensive violence and more than one instance of lethal combat."

"Self-defense?"

"All I'll say."

Head Summoner Vayl pinched his forehead in frustration. "I'd ask you to stay out of trouble, but we know that won't happen. Are you sure you can't give any more specifics?"

Lucian put his feet up on the table and thought. "Hmm. Yeah, I guess. Just this month I broke up a gang smuggling Inhibitor crystals out of the Scar, and I got involved with a cult who said their great-great-grandparents had known Thresh and that he was a good guy."

Garen raised an eyebrow. "Had these people actually commited any known crimes?"

"I didn't kill or torture 'em, so it's none of your business what my beef was."

Vayl fought the urge to pick up his chair and hurl it at the Purifier. He took a moment to compose himself before asking, "Do you know anything else about these groups? Anything at all?"

Lucian cracked a smile. "Yeah. One of the crystal smugglers was Vayne."

()

With Lucian retired to his dorm, the council continued discussion. Well, not exactly "discussion" so much as chaotic arguing.

"I say we knock her door down and bring her in!" Vi helpfully suggested.

"Surely she must have a good reason," Kayle said. "She should come willingly if we just explain the situation."

"Let me talk to her," Lux put in. "People trust me."

"Vayne hates you, Lux," the others responded in hurtful unison.

Vayl cast a spell that acted as a miniature firework to get everyone's attention. "Champions, please! Order! _Jeez_." The champions quickly shut up and sat down. "Thank you. Now, let's take a vote of all present: Who on the council believes that Vayne will answer our questions if we simply ask her to?" The more peace-loving Legends-Lux, Kayle, etc.-and council summoners all said "Aye." Vayl counted hands. "Alright. And all others believe we must use force?" The remaining people nodded their agreement.

Vayl stood at the head of the long oval-shaped table and looked across at everyone. "Well then. Vi, looks like you'll be paying Vayne a visit."

**I came up with the name Drake Vayl. Like it?**


End file.
